After a night of fun with friends, it was time to go to bed. I always check social media before I go to sleep. It was around 3 o’clock in the morning when I was scrolling my Facebook feed. I tend to read every post that shows up, so when I scrolled over a post that contained the words “RIP Christina Grimmie," I immediately shot up. This was a joke. It had to be. She was young--she couldn’t have died.

I tapped on the trending tag and was immediately sent into shock. “RIP Christina” was plastered across my phone screen. I was so confused. I had no idea what was happening or why it was happening. Stories began popping up with titles like “Christina Grimmie shot after concert” or “Christina Grimmie passes away after suffering injuries from gunman."

I went completely numb.

After reading article after article, post after post, my mind began flooding with thoughts of this amazing young woman. She had a spirit that was so gripping about her; something I don’t think I have ever felt from any artist before. She was charismatic and positive and an all-around beautiful person who never let the world push her down. She pushed for her dreams to come true and luckily she was able to realize that before her time on earth came to an abrupt halt.

I began following Christina on YouTube when I was still a high school student. I remember exactly what I had punched into the search bar: “People singing 'Fireflies' by Owl City." At that time, I didn’t know they were called covers. I believe her video was one of the first few to pop up. Watching that video instantly had me hooked. I began watching her other videos and found that she had an incredible and amazing gift with her voice. Ever since then I watched every single one of the videos she released. I became a fan.

Lately, with college and work, I haven’t had the time to keep up with her as much as I used to. I knew she was doing well, though. She had opened on tour with Selena Gomez, and from that moment I knew she was going to make it big. She made it onto “The Voice” and I was ecstatic for her to be getting so much recognition. I saw that she had released an album that began trending on the iTunes charts, and I felt proud of her. She was accomplishing so much. She paved a path for young YouTube singers who wanted to pursue a career in music. She proved that it was possible--that your dream can come true.

I sit here writing this article with a heavy heart and steady tears. To lose someone that meant so much is truly devastating. I can’t even begin to fathom how her family, let alone her brother (who had tackled the gunman) must be feeling. I now feel empathy for those who lost their idols that I had never looked up to. Christina Grimmie will be forever in my heart, along with so many others who were lucky enough to witness this angel on earth.

Rest in Peace.